


you're a killer... and i'm your best friend

by armyofbees



Series: dust of june [2]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Companion Piece, First Meetings, M/M, Missing Scene, Multi, Polyamory, Pre-Relationship, basically i just dump laf's feelings all over the place, he puts up with so much shit someone give him a break, herc is the best??, kind of, punk lafayette, that's not a huge part
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-18 20:18:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13689072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/armyofbees/pseuds/armyofbees
Summary: “What in the hell are those?”“Cabinets,” Laf said, and smiled. They looked like they were going for innocent and missed by a long shot.





	you're a killer... and i'm your best friend

**Author's Note:**

> companion piece to chapter 19 of Come With Me!! I hope y'all like this and everything it's important to me. Basically, I explore Laf and Herc's relationship, while building on the subtext in the earlier Laf/John chapters. Yeah? Yeah.
> 
> Also, they sing along to [Kids Again](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhSjH1UACl8) by Artist vs. Poet. It really fits the mood of this piece, though, as well as [Smells Like Summer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDdGIVBpSLk) by Early Hours. The title is snatched from [Be Nice To Me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhcAJC_3heA) by The Front Bottoms, but that doesn't fit the piece. I just like the line.
> 
> Edit: I realize I should probably mention that you can't really read this piece without having read Come With Me... it just won't make a lot of sense. You can always... try to figure it out, I suppose.

“What in the hell are  _ those?” _

Lafayette looked up from where they sat in the back of van, surrounded by pieces of wood in varying sizes. A cigarette dangled from their lips. Hercules stood outside, watching through the open door, hands on his hips. The bed was folded against the wall, and Lafayette had five different pieces of pamphlets spread around, with diagrams and labels in a mix of French and English. A hammer and a box of nails was set to one side, and they were scrutinizing a sixth paper, holding a plank of wood in one hand.

“Cabinets,” they said, and smiled. They looked like they were going for innocent and missed by a long shot.

_ “Cabinets?” _ Hercules repeated. “They don’t look like it.”

“In-the-future cabinets,” Lafayette amended.

Hercules narrowed his eyes. “Is this another one of your projects that we’ll start and never finish? I don’t want to end up with nails in our bed months from now.”

“Pessimist.” Lafayette turned back to the paper in their hand. “Come, sit.”

Hercules folded his arms across his chest. “No. Why do we need cabinets anyway?”

They grinned. “We have all this extra stuff! What if somebody else came… to our… van?” They frowned.

“Tagged along,” Hercules corrected. “Same meaning, but slang.”

“Right. What if somebody else came… and… tagged along?” Lafayette gestured around to the van at large. They weren’t wrong—it was a mess. Clothes were strewn about the floor, and Laf’s hair products could be found all over the place.

Hercules sighed softly, but joined them on the floor of the van. “Alright, fine, but how long is this gonna take?”

Lafayette shrugged. “Don’t know. However long it takes me to read these damn instructions.” Hercules’ expression turned skeptical, so Lafayette leaned over to kiss him, and when they pulled away, he rolled his eyes. “It will be fun, yes?”

“Sure,” he agreed, with an indulgent smile.

Lafayette snorted and handed him the paper. “Here. Their French is awful and I want to know how to build these cabinets.”

It was a hot day, so it wasn’t long before Hercules took off his shirt, and Lafayette could only resist so long before they abandoned their work. They came up behind him where he was finishing mounting a completed cabinet on the wall, put their hands on his hips, and rested their chin on his shoulder.

“Laf.”

They hummed.

“Laf, you started this.” Hercules tilted his head to knock their temples together gently. “You gotta work if we’re gonna get this done today.”

“We can take a break, yes?” they murmured, craning their neck to nip at his ear.

Hercules tensed, hesitated, and said, “No, we have to finish it.”

_ “Allez,” _ they purred, smiling against Hercules’ neck.  _ “S’il te plaît?” _

Hercules sighed and shifted his weight to his other foot. Lafayette smirked—they were winning. “Laf, c’mon…” They placed a feather-light kiss on his neck, and he gave in. Hercules dropped whatever he was holding with a clatter, then turned and took Lafayette by the shoulders, leaning forward and kissing them, so much more gently than they had expected.

They didn’t think they would ever get over the feeling of his lips on theirs, like they were built for each other. Like they fit together perfectly—puzzle pieces being put together, and every time was the first time.

Lafayette smiled into the kiss and pulled away for a moment, just to rest their forehead against Hercules’.  _ “Je t’aime.” _

“I love you, too,” Hercules replied, and kissed them again.

He brought his hands up to cup Lafayette’s face, and Lafayette tightened their grip on his hips, pulling him closer. They shivered when he ran his tongue across their teeth, like they’d never done this—and more—before. They felt like that a lot, and sometimes they felt stupid, because the two of them had been together for years, but mostly, they just felt fucking fantastic.

Hercules dipped down and began to work on their neck, so lightly that it tickled, and they couldn’t help giggling. Hercules drew in a sharp breath against their skin and kissed them again on the lips, hungry and  _ wanting. _

Lafayette made a noise that sounded caught between a growl and a gasp, and ran their hands up Hercules’ sides, his chest, to wrap their arms around his neck. They pulled him closer, and closer, and there was no air in between them but it wasn’t enough, and their hands itched to tug at his waistband—

Hercules broke the kiss to whisper, “Laf.”

“Yes?” they answered, shifting to pepper kisses along his jawline.

“Laf, the door’s open.”

They froze. After a moment, they dropped their head onto Hercules’ shoulder, sighed, and stood back. Hercules was right—the van’s door was still open, and they were parked at a rest stop. Luckily, nobody had noticed them. Yet.

“Fine, work, then,” they grumbled, pushing him back gently.

Hercules chuckled. “Are you gonna keep starting things and not finishing them?”

Lafayette smirked. “No, I am—I very definitely plan to finish this later.”

Hercules barked out a laugh and went back to work.

Once they had all of the cabinets installed, and all of the supplies meticulously picked up, as per Hercules’ demand, they pulled out the bed and collapsed on it. Lafayette rolled over and fit themself against Hercules’ side, snaking their arms around his waist.

Hercules laughed softly and dropped a kiss on their curls. “Nice work today.”

“I said we would do it,” Lafayette said happily.

“So you did,” Hercules agreed.

“You should listen to me more often,” Lafayette continued, this time sleepily.

Hercules smiled fondly and kissed them on the lips. “I always do.” A pause. “Were you planning on… finishing that thing from earlier?”

Lafayette hummed, yawned, then pouted. “No.”

Hercules laughed quietly. “Alright. Goodnight, Laf.”

_ “Bonne nuit,” _ Lafayette mumbled, and fell asleep with their cheek pillowed on his arm.

* * *

 

Lafayette was organizing the new cabinets the next morning when Hercules came up next to them and absently handed them a soda. He had a map in his other hand, and he was scrutinizing it doubtfully.

“Hey, Laf, any idea which way the wind blows?”

They paused, a folded shirt in one hand and the soda in the other, and said, “East.”

Hercules thought about it, then shrugged. “Sure, why not? What are we doing for breakfast?”

“It cannot be vending machine food, that is my… need.” Lafayette made a face. Life on the road was great, really, except when breakfast was the same cheap chips for a week.

“Requirement,” Hercules suggested offhandedly, already tracing a highway with his finger, trying to find the most convenient route to the next town.

Lafayette looked up at him and their face broke into a smile. “Oh, you are wearing your banana.”

Hercules paused, looked at them, and burst out laughing. “Bandana.”

“What?”

“You meant bandana, not banana.”

Lafayette started laughing, too, and Hercules pressed a kiss to their temple. “God, I love you.”

“I love you, too,” they muttered, burying their face in his neck.

* * *

 

_ “I know a girl, who likes to drink her coffee black,” _ Hercules was smiling as he sang. Lafayette loved it when he dropped the begrudging pretense, when he let himself show how much they knew he loved them.

_ “I know a boy, who likes to keep his burner on.” _ Lafayette broke off, laughing, as Hercules raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“My burner?”

Lafayette looked him in the eye.  _ “His fire’s fading.” _

“Oh, shut the hell—”

_ “But still we laugh, we cry, we fall, we get high—” _ Lafayette beckoned for Hercules to sing along.

Hercules chuckled and joined in,  _ “Just like we were kids, just like we were kids. And when I'm feeling small, you get me through it all, just like we were kids, just like we were kids again.” _

When Lafayette kissed him, they felt like they were overflowing.

* * *

 

“Are we gonna stop somewhere soon?” Hercules asked, craning his neck out the open window to look at the brightening stars.

Lafayette shrugged. “It is not too late.”

“It’s eleven thirty.” Hercules ducked back inside the van and adjusted his seatbelt.

Lafayette shrugged again and asked, “Nearest city?”

Hercules hummed as he scanned a map, looking troubled. “It’s about half an hour from here.” He glanced up at the road and jolted. “Take this exit!”

Lafayette jumped. “Shit!” Several cars honked at them as they swerved across two lanes, but they managed to avoid an accident, so they counted it as a win. They gave Hercules a smile and he just shook his head.

“I’m going to die one day, and it’s gonna be your fault.” He reached over and took their hand, though, so they figured it was okay.

* * *

 

As they entered the city, Lafayette was back on the topic of cabinets. “It needed to be cleaned, anyway.”

“I’m just saying, there’s no reason we would ever pick anyone else up.” Hercules glanced down at their joined hands. “We’ve always traveled as… just us.”

Lafayette rolled their eyes. “You are missing the point. It is just…  _ if _ that happened. It is not… not possible.”

“Sure, okay, it’s not impossible, but it’s really unlikely.”

Lafayette took their hand off the wheel to clap, and Hercules squawked. They laughed and took the wheel back. “Impossible. That is the word I was looking for. It is not impossible, like you said.”

“Like  _ you _ said,” Hercules corrected.

Lafayette sighed and glanced past Hercules, not sure what they were looking for until their eyes fell on a figure, slumped on a bench on the sidewalk. They squinted as they drew closer to the person. A… really nice suitcase stood next to the bench. The person had a t-shirt and classy jeans on, and they were wrapped in a truly gigantic purple scarf.

“Look, here, this person.” They gestured out the window, so Hercules could see.

The moment he saw the figure, he shook his head. “No. No way.”

“Oh, come on!” Lafayette whined.  _ “S’il te plait?” _

Hercules gave them an unimpressed look. “Stop. Just ’cause that worked yesterday doesn’t mean it’s gonna work now.”

Lafayette pouted, and gestured again out the window. The person had noticed them approaching, and had straightened up to look at them. He had an unbrushed mass of curly hair, dark bags under his eyes, and… he was cute. He also looked  _ sad, _ which wasn’t something Lafayette had expected.

“Please, he looks like shit,” they told Hercules. “It will not hurt to take him somewhere he can… ah… find a bus?”

“Catch a bus.” Hercules glanced between their hopeful face and the guy on the bench, and sighed. “God, fine, but I’m blaming you if we get murdered or something. That happened on  _ Gotham _ once and I’m not having it.”

Lafayette snickered and pulled over. Before the guy could do anything, Hercules rolled his window down and stuck his head out. The guy glanced past Hercules and met Lafayette’s eyes. They winked at him. He raised an eyebrow, looking a little superior and a little hot, and turned back to Hercules.

_ Mon dieu, où est ma raison? _

“You look like you need a pick-me-up or a ride or both,” Hercules said, and Lafayette thanked god that he hadn’t said something like,  _ I’m only doing this so my significant other stops whining. _

The guy paused, and his expression hardened. “Why are you offering?”

_ Oh no. _ He’d given Hercules his chance. He barked out a laugh and said, “Because Laf insisted and I can never say no to them.”

Lafayette bit back a sigh. It was probably the best response they were going to get out of him.

“Right,” the guy said, looking reluctant. He cast a glance away from the van, seeming to deflate a little. He looked back to Hercules, then stood and took hold of his suitcase. “Okay, sure.” Lafayette nudged Hercules’ arm, and Hercules batted them away. “Nice to meet you. I’m John Laurens.”

Hercules hesitated a little too long before saying, “Hercules Mulligan,” but Lafayette chalked it up to suspicion about picking up a stranger.

“Lafayette,” they said, trying to sound smoother than they felt. “A pleasure.”

John regarded them for a few more moments, then nodded and grabbed his suitcase to heave it into the back of the van. Lafayette watched him for a moment, then looked to Hercules, who was studying them closely.

Hercules narrowed his eyes at them, then turned to John as he pulled the sliding door open and got in. While it was odd, Lafayette brushed it off and started driving as soon as John pulled the door closed.

“Sorry ’bout the mess,” Hercules said. Lafayette kept their eyes glued to the road in front of them. “We don’t get guests, which  _ someone _ didn’t think of before inviting you in.

It was going to be fine, if he was poking fun at them. They had nothing to worry about. They held up a hand and gave him a smile. “I am just a better person, it seems, offering shelter to the needy.”

Hercules gave them a look and snorted, casting another glance back at John. “He hardly looks needy.” John arched an eyebrow and Lafayette smirked. “I mean, no offense,” Hercules continued, “but that vintage t-shirt could  _ not _ have been cheap.”

John’s face dropped, and he suddenly looked sheepish. Lafayette didn’t hear the rest of his response, instead glancing back to the road, but they could make out his quiet, “Um, yeah, no, it wasn’t.”

Lafayette caught his eye in the mirror again, trying their best to seem reassuring, or at least accepting. When a smile ghosted across his face, they smirked again, a little caught up in his gaze. Suddenly they were jolted out of…  _ whatever _ the hell that had been by a smack to their arm. “Eyes! Road! Not dying!” Hercules snapped.

Lafayette blinked rapidly and looked back to the road. In an attempt to salvage whatever composure they had left, they forced out a dramatic sigh. “If you stole the shirt, John, we will not tell,” they teased. They hoped it didn’t sound as stale as it did to them.

John didn’t hesitate before shooting back, “Ah, yes, I’m an infamous con man. That’s why I’m on the run. Little do you know, you’ve just condemned yourselves to jail by picking me up.”

Lafayette allowed themself a breath of relief as Hercules muttered, “That’s a little too believable for my taste.”

They laughed lightly and said, “Well, now we just have to live a life of crime. We can live like royalty.”

Hercules rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure, royalty with stolen crowns, if that’s what you’re into.” He leveled a finger at them. “That usually ends in—holy shit.” His tone was panicked, which was… not like Hercules, and it made Lafayette freeze. They followed his gaze to the back, and John, who was breathing heavily, and looked like he was in a completely different world. He looked like he’d just shattered.

_ “Vas-y!” _ Lafayette ordered, and Hercules obeyed without hesitation, vaulting over the back of his seat to grab John’s arms as Lafayette pulled the van over. As soon as they hit the brakes, they were jumping out of the van and throwing the back door open. They climbed inside and pulled John to their chest.

“John, can you hear me? John!” Hercules was trying to sound collected, but when Lafayette met his eyes, it was very plain that both of them had no idea what to do.

Hercules’ hands visibly tightened on John’s biceps, and he shouted, “John Laurens!” He cast another frantic look at Lafayette before moving his hands to John’s shoulders, and shaking him a little. “John! John! Laurens! John,  _ can you fucking hear me?” _

He seemed to freeze, and Lafayette let out a slow breath as John raised a hand and placed it gingerly on Hercules’ wrist. He nodded, looking lost, and he didn’t speak, but he held Hercules’ gaze, and that seemed to be enough.

“Okay, okay,” Hercules breathed, closing his eyes tightly, just for a moment, before he opened them again. “Okay,” he repeated, and breathed in deeply. Lafayette made a mental note to hug him and never let go.

John stirred a little in their arms before settling again, and after a while his breathing began to even. He didn’t move.

Lafayette shared a look with Hercules, then leaned forward and asked, quietly, “John, are you okay?”

John was quiet for a moment, and then he ground out in an awful, broken way, “I don’t—”

Nothing came after, and Hercules nodded at Lafayette once before climbing out of the van. Lafayette wriggled one hand free to rub John’s shoulder, just for the sake of small comforts. Hercules was back in an instant with a water bottle, which he pressed into John’s hand. John took a drink and smiled weakly at Hercules. He tilted his head back to Lafayette, then, and finished, “I don’t think so.”

Lafayette smiled resignedly. Of course. It wasn’t John’s fault, it was just… They caught Hercules eye, and knew he’d decided on the exact same thing as them: they were going to help John out, however they could. He deserved something better than…  _ this. _ Anybody would.

“It’s okay,” John spoke up, calling both of their attention back to him. “I’m just…” he trailed off, looking lost again, and Lafayette suddenly thought that this must have been how they were, when Hercules first met them. “It’s a long story.”

What they would have given for someone to talk to… “You will tell us, if you want to,” they said quickly. John nodded slowly, and they smiled. “Later.” John returned the smile, ever-so-slightly, and sat up, away from them. They shivered at the sudden chill.

John nodded again, like he was reassuring himself, and gave Lafayette a grateful look. “Thanks. Sorry about… this.”

“Don’t apologize,” Hercules said. He punched John’s arm, even as he was glancing at Lafayette. “You shoulda seen Laf when I first met them.” Lafayette scoffed and rolled their eyes. Of course he thought of that, too. Their own connection scared them sometimes. “For real,” Hercules continued, “they were a wreck.”

John smiled, but it didn’t look mocking, and Lafayette couldn’t help smiling as well. “Thank you,” he said, and he sounded so  _ warm. _ “Really.”

“’Course,” Hercules said, and Lafayette nodded. They were… somehow glad that it had turned out like this, only because it could have been so much worse.

Still, all moments must come to an end. “We are going to go now,” Lafayette said, already edging away from John, who gave them a confident nod. They shot him one last smile before settling back into the driver’s seat next to Hercules.

Hercules gave them an unimpressed look when they were both sure John wasn’t paying attention, and Lafayette just shook their head. They weren’t any good at feigning confusion, and Hercules wasn’t as bothered as he let on, anyway. They hoped.

After another few minutes, John appeared thoroughly engrossed in the scenery outside his window.

“So, are we gonna talk about this?” Hercules whispered, quiet but insistent.

Lafayette glanced at John in the rearview mirror. “Not right now,” they whispered back.

Hercules rolled his eyes. “He isn’t paying—ow!”

Lafayette withdrew their elbow, jerking their head pointedly towards the mirror, where they could see John gazing out the windshield at the road ahead of them. “Not. Right. Now,” they hissed.

Hercules sighed, exasperated, but sat back and didn’t press the issue.

* * *

 

“Hey,  _ mon cher, _ how would you call a city in… north Mississippi?”

_ “What _ would you call a city.”

“Yes.”

“I… I dunno, Laf, what  _ would _ you call it?”

“Not here!”

“I’m jumping out of the car.”

“Get it, because we have not seen a city at all yet?”

“Here I g—”

_ “Non! Non! Désolé!” _

* * *

 

It was two or three in the morning when Lafayette pulled into a rest stop parking lot because they were having a hard time keeping their eyes open. They’d been sitting for a long time.

John looked up with interest, and before Lafayette could say anything, Hercules was smiling and telling him, in a surprisingly gentle tone, “We’re stopping here for the night, if that’s alright with you.”

Lafayette squinted at him suspiciously, but Hercules wasn’t paying attention. John got out of the car silently, and Hercules followed after, without so much as a glance at Lafayette. Lafayette allowed themself a smirk—they were more similar than Hercules liked to think.

Whatever the case, they were left alone. They got out of the car, reached into their jacket, and leaned against the hood, just staring at the package of cigarettes. They felt a twinge of guilt, just thinking about smoking. It was weird, to have gone from unapologetic to  _ this _ in only a few months. As much as they hated it when Hercules complained, they had to thank him for being persistent.

Lafayette glanced up, eyes catching on John, just inside the rest stop’s glass doors, at the vending machines. Ah, well. They had to break the information to him somehow.

They pulled their lighter from another pocket and lit a cigarette, placing it gingerly between their lips and taking a pull. It never quite burned like the first time, and they felt a little grateful. Then again, they might’ve quit by now if it hurt like that.

They let out a self-deprecating huff of laughter, all dry, without humor. God, weren’t they just pathetic?

They dropped their cigarette hand, took a couple deep breaths, and watched as John made his way back towards them. He looked nice, framed in his t-shirt and dingy streetlights. They allowed themself a small smile.

He was holding a couple bags of chips, and Lafayette raised their eyebrow. They hadn’t taken him for the indulgent type, but then again, he’d had a panic attack. He shot a pointed look at their cigarette, and they dropped their good nature.

They sniffed distastefully and brought the cigarette back up to their lips, but try as they might to hold his gaze, they ended up looking away. They would laugh at themself, if he wasn’t standing right there.

“You may not have one,” they said, after a moment of trying to figure out what to say, and glanced back up at him through their lashes. The whole moment felt too vulnerable and intimate, but John just shook his head.

“Wasn’t asking.” He paused, glancing at them, at the ground, then at them again, before asking, “Why do you smoke those, anyway?”

Lafayette was a little taken aback by his directness, and just the question in general, but they figured he hadn’t meant any harm. He didn’t seem malicious, just… nice. From what they’d seen, at least.

Eventually, they just shrugged, and exhaled. “Look at me.” It was a double-edged invitation, but they were a little too tired to care, so they just let John’s eyes roam—over their jacket, their jeans, their combat boots, and then smaller details, like their eyeshadow, their hair, their piercings.

Lafayette took the time to admire the way the shadows and orange lights accentuated his cheekbones, his frizzy hair, his golden eyes. It was a nice view. They bit their inner cheek.

“How very punk rock,” John said, softly, like he was almost afraid of offending them.

“Fits the—ah—aesthetic.” Lafayette paused and took another drag, searching for the words. “It began as a thing I did to piss Hercules off—he does not care much for punk shit—and it… grew—er, escalated.” They hated it when they lost control of their sentences.

John hummed, his eyes coming to rest on their cigarette, dangling from their hand by their side. Lafayette brought it to their lips experimentally, and his eyes followed. They fought a self-indulgent grin. They felt downright evil.

“Sucks,” John said, after another moment, still looking at their lips. “Does he give you shit for it?”

Lafayette tilted their head, and John met their eyes at last. “Not as much, now,” they mused. “He did before only because I gave him reason to.” They thought of the yelling, the drinking, some of their godawful friends… “I am… hm… a problem.”

“Problematic?” John said, and it took a moment for Lafayette to understand what he was asking.

“Right,” they agreed quickly. Their mind suddenly flashed to yesterday, building the stupid cabinets with Hercules, how much they did for each other. “I am less so now.” And they allowed themself a happy smile.

“That’s fair.” John nodded, then dropped Lafayette’s gaze. He looked down to his shoes, up at a streetlight, at one of the bumper stickers on the van behind them. “Do you—um—”

Ah. “Do I wish to quit?” Lafayette interjected, almost reverently. God, what they would give to be done already.

John hummed.

“Yes.” It was Lafayette’s turn to study their shoes. “It is a process, it is coming along.” And they looked up to find Hercules, exactly on time, exiting the building. They watched him over John’s shoulder, a fond feeling rising in their chest.

John didn’t speak, just nodded and got back in the van. Lafayette deflated slightly as Hercules approached. They flicked the cigarette into a nearby trashcan and gave Hercules a sad sort of smile.

“You okay?” he asked, and took their hands.

Lafayette leaned their forehead against his and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to his lips. “Fine.”

* * *

 

Apparently, Hercules was good at faking sleep. Lafayette knew they needed to talk about whatever was happening with John, but they figured Hercules would have some sense and put it off until the next morning. He didn’t.

They were comfortably dozing when Hercules shook them back awake, a little too forcefully. “Laf,” he whispered, urgently. They groaned and buried their face further in his neck. “Laf, babe, we gotta talk.”

They sighed. He was right. Their face still pressed against his skin, they nodded.  _ “Oui.” _

Hercules ran a hand through their hair, gently and with just a little coercion, and they pulled their head back to look at him. “Hey,” he said, and smiled.

Lafayette returned the smile and kissed him. It was short, but so full of intimacy, and Hercules laughed breathily when they broke apart. They spent a few moments just staring into each other’s eyes, and Lafayette knew it was cheesy, but they couldn’t look away. Hercules was captivating.

At length, they asked, “Is John asleep?”

“Mm.” Hercules rolled over onto his back, staring at the van’s ceiling. “As far as I know.”

“Okay, good—”

“Yeah, great,” Hercules muttered. “Listen, I dunno what made you think this was a good idea, but—”

“It is not my fault he is the first one we saw!” they interrupted, then paused and looked away. Hercules still hadn’t met their eyes. “It is not my fault he is cute.”

Hercules blew out a breath, loudly. “Yeah, I know, I get that, but we barely know him!”

“I know,” Lafayette began, then stopped. They narrowed their eyes and looked sharply at Hercules, “You  _ get that?” _

Hercules very pointedly did not look at them. His eyes remained on the ceiling. “I mean, whatever, but my point—”

“Ha!” Lafayette barked, then froze, and peeked over the back of the bench. John hadn’t stirred. “Ha,” they repeated, quieter. “You are… with me on one boat?”

“In the same boat,” Hercules corrected, before throwing an arm over his eyes. “And shut up.”

“All I am saying is that I cannot be blamed for this,” Lafayette hissed, then peeked back over the back of the bench. John was still asleep, curls fanned out and his face pressed into the crease of his book. “Come look.”

Hercules hesitated for a few seconds, but eventually he crawled over and rested his chin on their shoulder. “Aw, he’s a fucking gem.” Lafayette hummed agreement. “Still,” Hercules continued pointedly, “we met him like, three hours ago.”

Lafayette shrugged uncomfortably. “You are right.” They sank down onto the mattress, pulling Hercules with them. “You are right, but you understand.”

Hercules nodded, and smiled a sympathetic little smile. “How about this? Once we find out more about… everything… we can decide what to do.”

Lafayette took a moment to think it over. John was… something akin to a true mystery. At length, they nodded.  _ “Oui.” _

They adjusted how they were laying, until Lafayette’s head was resting on Hercules’ chest, and Hercules was left staring at the ceiling again. Lafayette traced swirls onto Hercules’ collarbone until Hercules grabbed their hand and laced their fingers together. Lafayette glanced up and gave him a tiny smile.

_ “Je t’aime.” _

Hercules kissed them, and it was everything they needed to hear.


End file.
